half and half

Rating: 8/10 (4 August 2005)

This film is a mixed bag. It starts off as a futuristic thriller, well paced and measured. I found myself captivated by the pace of the plot development, as the ripple of main character's unease in the too clean and clinical world he lives in slowly gets stronger and he discovers more and more cracks in the reality presented to him until it culminates in the realization of his suspicions. That is the first part of the movie. From there the pace lifts instantaneously into action and doesn't slow down until the end of the movie. For the first couple of minutes this feels forced due to sudden change but it proceeds in standard Hollywood action mold so it doesn't take long to get used to. The second half of the movie is in a 'near future' world and the action is fast and furious till the end. Visually the film is engaging, full of textured closeups and color filters and, in the second half, lots of special effects. I could have done with less camera shaking during the action scenes, sometimes I thought it substituted for special effects as in parts it is hard to see whats going on. The dialog is snappy with a few traditional gags through the action moments. Ewen McGregor is very good in the role and so is Scarlett Johansson although she is underused in the movie. The film is very entertaining but a little thin, mostly due to the second half being very formula. A little more plot substance could have been good there. Overall: good, entertaining viewing. PS: When Steve Buscemi's character talks to Johansson's character about memories I had a major deja-vu to "Blade Runner" scene where Harrison Ford's character talks to Sean Young's character about memories. The scenes to me feel so similar.